Dutch New Herring – Maatjesharing

Dutch new herring (maatjesharing) is herring prepared in a specific Dutch way and is seen as a great seasonal delicacy.
By Ena Scheerstra

New herring with onions

Dutch new herring (maatjesharing) is the first, young herring of the season fit for consumption.The herring is skinny in the winter, but in the spring it starts to grow because of the higher level of plankton in the water, and will keep getting fatter. In May, when the herring has a fat content of minimal 16 percent, the yearly period in which maatjesharing is fished starts, and will last till the beginning of July. After that, the fish contains too much milt or roe. It can still be eaten but is not as good as new herring, it is used for salted herring, pickled herring or rollmops.

Maatjesharing is prepared in a specific way. It is “gekaakt” (the process of gibbing), in which the gills and intestines are removed, but the pancreas is left. The pancreas excretes specific enzymes that will help the herring to ‘mature’, which is very important for the taste. Then the herring is salted, often for about 5 days. The herring has been frozen before salting for at least 24 hours at at least -45C to kill possible parasites. After salting it is filleted in a specific way: the head is removed, as are all the bones and the skin, but the tail is left on. The tail is often used as a handle to hold the fish when lowering it into your mouth. New herring can be eaten with or without onions, and sometimes it is eaten with pickles or on bread. It has a soft texture, tastes lightly salty and ripened, and smells fresh. It is usually bought at a market stand and eaten there as a snack, but can also be bought at fishmongers and supermarkets. Foreigners (and even some Netherlanders) often think that this is a weird habit, eating raw fish, but actually the fish is cooked by the salting. If you think eating herring from the tail is a bit to adventurous, the herring salad I give the recipe for is a very nice alternative for eating herring!

Eating new herring from the tail. (source: Nederlands Visbureau)

In the past, fishermen did not have a freezer. To be able to keep the herring longer and to kill parasites, much more salt was used. The longer the herring was left, the saltier the taste of the herring became, until it was almost inedibly salty after a year. That was the reason that the coming of the new herring was a big party, it was barely salty and therefore much more tasty. But even nowadays the arrival of new herring is reason for a big party, vlaggetjesdag (flag day), in the port of Scheveningen. The date depends on when the herring is fat enough, this year it was the 9th of June, with the 3th of June as the first day on which herrings were catched. A few days before vlaggetjesdag, the first casket of herring is sold via auction, the profits are for a charitable organisation. The port and ships are decorated with small flags, hence the name vlaggetjesdag, and there are all sorts of other activities like music and a street fair.

A fresh and spicy herring salad to enjoy herring in another way than from the tail, very nice as an appetizer, entrée or snack.

Author: Ena Scheerstra

Recipe Type: Entree

Serves: 1-2

Ingredients

4 Dutch new herrings, cubes

1 small onion, small cubes

1 sour apple, cubes

3 tbsp mayonnaise

3 tbsp sour cream

salt

pepper

Tabasco

Worcestershire sauce

vodka

Instructions

Make a well seasoned sauce of the mayonnaise, sour cream, salt, pepper, Tabasco, Worcestershire sauce and a splash of vodka.

Mix together with the herring, onion and apple.

Serve.

Notes

Instead of Dutch new herrings you can use ordinary soused herring/salted herring (herring prepared the same way, but not from the new herring season; the name depends on the county you live).
Can be prepared in advance, store in closed container.

Ena Scheerstra has a lifelong love for food and cooking, starting to collect cookbooks at age 10. She spends most of her free time on cooking and everything food related. She is a strong believer of honest food, produced sustainable and sourced locally, and cultures her own vegetables on her balcony and in her small allotment. Her blog is very internationally orientated, reflecting the variety of food she cooks, but on Honest Cooking she is focusing on showing the world the wonders of Dutch food.

I really wouldn’t know if it is possible to buy maatjesharing in England, maybe you can find it out via google?
Ouwehand is the brand of pickled herring that is the best available in the Netherlands, but since all pickled herrings taste yucky for me, I don’t know if it is a good brand. Maybe try to make your own? There are lots of recipes available online(just google pickled herring recipe).

How can I find the original recipe for preparing maatjesharing? What is the exact proportion of salt per kilo of fish? Is it necessary to keep the fish just in salt or in salty brine and if so – what is the percentage of the salt in the brine?

The really old-fashioned method uses a lot of salt, to be able to preserve the fish without a fridge/freezer. Because the salt extracts moisture from the fish, it will become a brine after a while. But the exact methods and percentages I don’t know. I expect you can find a lot of information via google, otherwise you should look into (old) books about Dutch food/preservation/fish/fishing methods. Unfortunately, I cannot help you any more than this.

I have seen it on sale in Engalnd, in the basement section of the Westfield shopping mall in Stratford, East London, but was not in a position to buy it when I was there, so I can’y vouch for the quality.

Stall venders traditionally sold the herrings from carts. They bought the highly salted herrings in barrels. They soaked the herrings in fresh water overnight – otherwise they were too salty to eat. Dutch people consider herring from Scheveningen to be the best quality available.

Good afternoon!
I would like to know if it is possible to buy new hering on line or if in Paris I can find them.
Thank you for your reply!
Best regards
D.Gavelle
My wife is dutch and I am found of these fishes.

I love eating herring holding by the tail. Living in Canada that is a improbability. Living in Kamloops, B.C. I cannot get herring anywhere, so I am just dreaming about it. I realize that if I get it somehow it will be frozen and probably in big quantity, but that is why we have freezers nowadays. I am trying to find a way to get some somehow. The local fishmarket has not been able to help. Maybe you have any suggestions?

Is there Any place, aside from Russ & Daughters, one can buy the New Herring out of Holland? The season begins this month and I must have some in order to live thru the summer! I live in north central New Jersey and would travel almost anywhere , or even order on line, in order to satisfy my craving for this delicacy I came to enjoy during my many months over the years in Holland! I used to place an order with “A Touch of Dutch” in Belvedere, NJ but unfortunately they are retired and out of the business.